High-tension air-break switch



Jan. 20, 1931. N. J. mum: ;789,46

HIGH TENSION AIR BREAK SWITCH Filed April 24. 925 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 lllliii Jan. 20, 1931. N. J. CONRAD HIGH TENSION AIR BREAK SWITCH Filed Apri 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Jan. 20, 1931.

N. J. CQNRAD HIGH TENSION AIR BREAK SWITCH 5 Sheets-Shut- 4 Filed April 24 1925 j ZUiZEf [6231f Cb'zmd M c/w HIGH TENSION AIR BREAK SWITCH Filed April 24 1925 5' Sheets-Sheet 5.

Patented Jan. 20, 1931 "UNITED ST S W ARE PATENT .QFFI B- NICHOLAS J. CONRAD, onw L-ivrnrrn, ILLINOI -ASSIGNOR, BY-MESNEASSIGNMENTS, TO scrrwnrrznn & CONRAD, Inc or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, AOORPORATION onDELA;

'HIei-r-TEitsIoN AI -BREAK SWITCH Application filed April 24, 1925. Serial No; 25,593.

' My invention relates to high tension switches and more particularly to a high ten sion air break swi ch. It is the purpose o't my invention to provide aswitch mechanism having a stationary contact or contacts with which a movable contact or contacts are adapted to cooperate, said movable contact or contacts moving at the end thereof that engage with the stationary contact members in substantially a straight line into and out of circuit closing position. The movable contact members are mounted on arms that have a combined swinging and stralght line move tion to provide a link mechanism formoving said movable contact members so that the ends thereof that engage with the stationary contact members move substantially in a straight line into and out of circuit closing position. The link mechanism preferably comprises a contact. carrying memberand links pivoted thereto at spaced points.

It is'a further purpose of the invention to I provide new and improved means for moving said link mechanism so as to move the movable contact member into and out of engagement with the stationary contact member comprising a crank and means connecting the crank with one of the links so as to swing the same about its pivot. The crank mechanism is preferably operated by means of a rotatable insulator and is connected through a link with an ear on the link or lever pivoted on a stationary insulator, said link being one of the pair of links connected with the swinging arm carrying the movable contact.

It is another purpose of the invention to provide means for aiding the movement ot the switch in one directiomsaid meansbeing preferably a spring and being tensioned so as to be placedin condition to be of aid in the movement of the switch in said direction when the switch moves in the opposite direction. In certain types of the switch mechanism theabove mentioned means acts to aid in the closing movement and iii-other types away of my the spring is so ar'anged as to aid in opening movement of theswitc'h.

It is also a purpose of the invention to provide stop mechanism for limiting the movement of the switch toward closing'position,

said means locking the switch incircuit closing position so that the same can only be opened by operating the entire mechanism and not by disconnecting a portion thereof and operating the same by actuation of an intermediate portion of the operating mechanism. p 7

It is a still further purpose of the invention to provide means: associated with the oper ating mechanism that actuates signal means to indicate the" position of the switch at a distant point. Pret'erably' said means comprises a member associated with the switch actuating mechanism that is connected with suitable switch mechanismjf or opening or closing electric signal circuits.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear as'the description of the accompanying drawings proceeds. However, I desire to have it distinctly understood that I do not. intend to limit myself to the exact details shown or described but that I intend to include as part of my invention all such obvious changes and modifications of parts as would occur toa person skilled in this art and as would fall within the. scope ofthe claims. In the drawings s Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of a vertically arranged switch 'mechanism constructed inaccordance with my, invention;

7 Fig. 2 is a front elevation ofthe switch mechanism shown in Fig. 1, showing a single movable contact member;

Fig. 8is an enlarged View partly in section of the stationary contactmember employed in both forms of my invention, the same beingshown in the position assumed in the vertically arranged'switch mechanism such as shown in Fig. 1; f Y

Fig. 4 isa topplan viewpa'rtly broken improved switch mechanism when arranged horizontally; Fig. 5 is a sideflelevational View of the ice structure shown in Fig. 4, partly broken away;

Fig. 6 is an end View of the mechanism shown in Figs. 4 and 5 taken substantially on the line 66 of Fig. 5; a V

Fig. 7 is a front elevationpartly, broken away, of the switch mechanism shown in Figs. 4 and 5, showing the operating means therefor Fig. 8 isa plan view of-the device shown in Fig. 9 is a side elevation of one of the movable switch members takensub'stantially on the line 99 of Fig. 7; a V a Fig. 10 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in section of the signal means. associated with my switch mechanism; and

Fig. 11 is a view partly 'in section and partly in front elevation of the mechanism shown in Fig. 10.

Referring in detailtothedrawings, in Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive is shown one form of my switchmechanism comprising a vertically extending base member .20, which is prefer- Said operating rod 29 is connected at one end thereof pivot-ally .with "an. arm 30 of a bell crank lever. having an arm 32 to which the vertically extending operating rod 33 is pivoted, said bell crank lever being pivotally mounted in abracket 34. The vertically extending operating rod 33 is provided with a bearing member 35 at the end thereof, into which the pin'36 of the crank member 37 ex tends. Said crank member 37 is mounted on a shaft 38 which is mounted in suitable bearings in a bracket 39 and which is adapted to be'rotate'd by means of a handle 40 having a pair of yoke-like arms 41 that are secured to the shaft 38 so as to rotate therewith. The rod 29 is adapted to actuate a plurality'of rot'atable insulators 22, beingprovided with a plurality of pivot pins-42 pivotally connecting the same with -crank members similar to the crank member .28.

The horizontally arranged switch mechanism is also providedwith "a plurality of insulators mounted upon a suitable base, the construct-ion being practically identical with that described above except that the channel member2O" shown igs. and 9, is horizontally instead of fverticallyarranged. lhe

insulators 21, and 23l arealso provided provided on the crank vmember 64. v a crank member 64 is mounted on the shaft 25 vso as to rotate therewith,:said.shaft 25 being on the member 20 but extend vertically in-v theoperatingrod 29, as in the' form shown in Figs. land 2, said operating rod being actuated by,the actuating rod 43 which is "connected with one of the crank members 28 as shown inFig. 8, said member 43 being connected with the arm 30 of the bell crank lever which isthe. same as that shown in F i 's. 1 and 2 and which is actuated by means of the vertically extending operating rod 33 which in turn is operated by means of the lever 40 as described in connection with Fig. 2.

Referring now to Fig. 1, it will be seen that the switch mechanism comprisesa movable contact carrying arm 44 which is pro,- vided with a pair of diverging members 45 carrying the transverse pivot pins 46 and 47 to which are pivotally connected the pairs of links 48 and 49. The links .48 are pivoted to the channel member 27 at 5 0 and the links49 are pivoted to the ears 51 extending laterally from the channelmember27 in alignment with the insulator. 21 by means of the pivot pin 52.

The same parts .are also provided the horizontally arranged switch mechanism shown in Figs. 4, 5 and .9, these parts being in? cheated by the same, numerals in the horizontally arranged form. The details of the mechanism are shown more clearly in Figs. 4 and '5, {and it will be seen upon reference to Fig. .4

thatthe members .45 are provided with inwardly extending portions 53 which are provided with'right angular ends 54 that lie on opposite sides of the member 44, all said members being secured together by the-securing' means'55. It willalso benoted that the links 49 have bracket members 56 secured thereto forming ears or crank members extending laterally from the pivots 51, between which the transversely extending shaft-like member 57 is mounted. Said members 56 are spaced from the members 49 bymeans of the spacing members 101. Extending through the member 57 1s a vertically extending shaft 58 noon which are )ivoted the voke-like arms I 59 of the bracket member 60, which is screwthreadedly -mounted on the rod: 61, the other end of which is piv-otallymounted on the pivot pin 62, pivoted between the arms 63 "Said be evident that the member 44 enters the 67 of the channel 20 or 27, a similar arrangement being provided with a vertically arranged form for'm'ounting theshaft in'the channel 27. A nut 68 is threaded on the bushing 66 on' the opposite side of the web 67 from the flange of said bushing, the bush ing thus serving as a bearing for the shaft 25.

.It will be evident upon reference to Figs. 4 and 5 that rotation of the insulator 22 will actuate the crank 64 so as to move the operating rod 61 bodily either to the right or left depending upon the direction of movement of the crank 64. Movementof the rod 61 to the left in Fig. 5 will cause the arms or links 49 to be swung on their pivot in a clockwise direction, while movement toward the right of the member 61 will cause the members 49 to be swung in a; counter-clockwise direction. The swinging of the links 49 will of course carry the remainder of the linked mechanism comprising the members and 48 therewith and move the end of contact member 44 either 7 to the right or left as the case may be, this being evident from Fig. 9. The path of movement of the contact member 44 is more clearly shown in connection with the vertically arranged form, various positions thereof being indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1. v

Cooperating with the movable contact member 44 is a stationary contact member mounted'on the insulator 23, this being the same in both forms of the invention, and comprising a housing 69 having a cover member 70 by means of which access can be had to the interior thereof, said housing and cover member being provided with flaring walls 71 and 72 to provide a wide mouth for the entrance of the end of the contact member 44 into said housing. Mounted within the housing are the contacts 73 with which the member 44 engages, said members 73 being resiliently mounted so as to resiliently engage opposite sides of the member 44. From Fig. 1 it will housing 69 and engages with the contact 7 3 bysubstantially a straight line movement, although the. contact member 44 is swinging about its pivots 46 and 47 at the time this movement occurs. The housing 69 is provided with a bracket member 74 upon which a terminal 75 is mounted towhich a conductor may be connected that forms one terminal vvidedwith a bracket 7 6 carrying the arcing horn 7 7. The movable contact member'44 is provided with a pair of arcing fingers 78 having thebent over ends 79 to provide a rounded end thereon which are adapted to cooperate with the arcing horn 77, said members 7 8 being connected with the member 44 by means of the plate 80 and the securing members 81.

The arrangement of the parts is such that the members 78 willdisengage from the members 77 subsequent to the disengagement of the member. 44 with the. contact .members-73. The reverse is also true, that the contacts will -engage subsequent to the engagement. of the members .77,.with'the members 78 in closing the switch. :Thus any arcing thatmay occur will take place between the members 77 and 7 8 and not between the contacts 44 and 73; The housing 69 is provided with abase 82 that is secured'i'n'any suitable manner on the insulator 23. Said base 82 is provided with a securing face 88. that extends at an inclination to the axis of the housing 69, thus placing the stationary contact member inan inclined position in-both the'forms shown in Figsl and 9. In theform shown in Fig.1 it will be evident that in moving theswitch to closing position the entire mass of movable parts must be moved against the action of gravity, th at is the members 44, 45, 48 and 49, and the connecting means therefor-must all be raised to close the switch. In order to aid such closing movement the springs 84 are provided, said springs being coiledarounda pivot member 46 and having end portions 85 and 86, the end portions 85 being connected together to provide a transversely extending portion 87-that engages under the member 44 and the portions 86 engaging underneath the transversely extending pin 88 connecting the members 48. It will be seen that the springs 48 are tensioned as the parts are. moved into open circuitpositionand that due to the tersioningthereofv the same will aid in moving I as clearly shown in Fig.5. The portionS? engages under the member 44 and the por tions 86 engage with the transversely extending pin 88. Thus the springs 84 will be tensioned as the switch mechanism is moved to circuit closing position, the tension placed on the springs tending to move the arms 85 and 86 apart and accordingly aiding in the opening movement ofthe switch. a

The member 44 is provided with a pair of brackets .89, secured in position on opposite sides thereof by means of the bolts 90, and which are providedwith the sockets 91 for securing the conductors 92 thereto. Said conductors extend underthe portions 53 of the members 4 5 and betweenthe transversely extending rod-like members 93 and the clips 94 provided on the members 49,"the ends thereof being secured iniany suitable manner to the bracket 95, which has mounted thereon the terminal-.96,havinga socket portion 97 for securing the i opposite terminal .ofthe circuit in which the switch isinterposed thereto.

'Secured to the web portio1r67 of the channel 20 or 27, is a bracket 98, said bracket be- 7 ing secured in position by means of a boltlike member or other securing means '99. Said bracket 98 is provided with an upwardly extending stop member with which the crank member 64 is adapted to engage to limit the closing movement of the switch, it being important that the closing movement of the switch be limited so that the movable contact member cannot be forced too far into thestationary contact members, thus preventing injuryto the stationary contact members by the careless operation ofthe switch. it will be noted upon reference to Fig. 4 that when the member 64 engages with the member-100 the pivot 62 will lie slightlyvbeyond a line extending between the pivots 25 and 57, thus locking the switch mechanism in closed position. The only way in which the switch mechanism can be opened is by rotationof the crank member 64 due to rotation of the insulator 22, as the attempt to move the same by moving any one'of the links 45, 48 and 49 or the member44 will be prevented by the fact that the crank is locked in a position past center by engagement with the stop 100.

Secured to one of the arms 41 of the yokelike member provided on the end of the handle 40 is a bracket member 102, said member 102 being secured to the member' ll by any suitable securing means such as the bolts 103. The bracket member 102 has acrank mem ber 104 mounted thereon which is provided with a crank pin 105 mounted eccentrically thereof and which has mounted in a recess in the end thereof a pivot pin-106 to'whichthe end of the link 107 is pivoted. The pivotpin 106 is provided with a hollow portion 141 in which the ball 142 is mounted, said ball spreading said hollow portion 141 when the pin 106 is driven into the pin 105. The link' member 107 is connected with the rod 108 by means of a cotter pin 109, said rod being screwed-threaded within the sleeve 110. Mounted within the sleeve 110 is a plug-' like member 111 which engages with the knob 112 on the end of the toggle lever 113 I of the tog le switch mechanism 114. A redlike member 115 is screw-threaded into the sleeve 110 on the opposite end thereof from the member 108 and a plug 116 is mounted between the end of the member 115 and the knob 1.12. The sleeve-like member 110' is provided with slots 118 and 119 and transverse} y extending pins 120 and 121 are mountedin; the plugs 111 and 113 and extend through the slots 118 and 119 respectively; Coil tensionsprings 122 connect the pins'120 and 121. g

The member 115 screw-threadedly engages within the sleeve 123 similar to the sleeve 110 with which the toggle lever 1240f1the switch 125 engages in a similarmanner to that in which the lever 113 engages with the sleeve 110 through the plugs 116 and 111, the coil springs l2fi connecting'the pins 127 and 128 provision of the springs, said springs yielding'to allow for limited relative movement of thefactuating mechanism relative to the lever. The member 124 is of course provided with the knob 129 similar to the knob 112 with which the plugs in the member 123 ei1- gage. 7 v

A bracket member 130 is provided, mountedjon any suitable support, which carries the base member 131 provided with an opening 132 through which the member 107 extends, said base member 131 having a frame 133 mounted thereon supporting the'switch member 114 and the frame 133 has a frame 134, secured thereto by means of the securing members 135, which supports the switchmemher 125. The base 131 is further provided with a shoulder 136 and a flange 137 adjacent the same for receiving the bottom edge of the housing 138, which is-providedwith a cover plate 139 and which is secured to the base 131 by means of any suitable securing members 140.

It will be seen that when the lever 40 is actuated to operate the high tension switch mechanism the movement thereof will move I the member 104 and cause the same to move the link 107 either upwardly or downwardly depending upon the direction of movement of the lever 40 actuating the toggle levers 113 and 124 of the switches 114 and 125 respectively. The switches 114 and 125, are mounted in suitable signal circuits so as to indicate the 'positionof the movable contact member relative to the stationary contact member, Thus, for example, the switches 114 and 125 may be provided each with a suitable signal lamp in circuit. with one pair of contacts thereof to indicate that the switch is open in one positionand may haveother suitable signal means connected with another pairof contacts thereof to indicate that the hightension switch is closed. lVhen a plurality of switches are used, as shown, each are located in a separate signal circuit to O1)- erate signals at two different'points, it being obvious that any desired number may be actuated in the above manner. The signal switch member described can be used .with either of the two forms of the invention described, as the'actuating mechanism in both forms is the same WVhile the toggle lever switch mechanism is shown, obviously any switch mechanism may be used for operating joint between the bracket 56 and the rod 61.

Having thus described my invention what I desire to claim and secure by United States 7 Letters Patent is:

1. In an air break switch for high tension electrical lines, a support pair of spaced insulators on said support each having a line terminal thereon, a third insulator rotatably mounted on said support adjacent one of said first named insulators, a stationary contact on the other of said first named insulators, and means for completing circuit from said contact to the other line terminal comprising a movable contact, a rigid arm supporting the same at oneend thereof, a pair of spaced links pivoted adjacent the other end of said arm, a framework connecting said rotatable insulator and the adjacent stationary insulator, fixed spaced pivots on said framework for said links one of said links being extended beyond its pivot on the framework and turned down at the end, and

a crank carried by said rotatable insulator connected to the extended down turned end of said link whereby to swing said links and move the movable contact from engagement with the stationary contact to open p0 sition adjacent the other insulators.

2. In an air break switch for high tension electrical lines, a supporting base, an insulator having a stationary contact thereon, said contact having a hood thereon, and a contact receiving opening in one direction, a pair of insulators spaced from the first named insulator in the direction of said opening, said last named insulators having a framework connecting them, one of said insulators being rotatable, and having a crank in said framework, a movable contact arm, and means for moving said arm endwise into and out of said opening and withdrawing the same with a combined turning and translatory movement to a position adjacent said framework, said means comprising a pair of cranks pivoted to said arm and to said framework at different distances from said stationary contact, one of said links being connected to said crank, and one of said links being longer than the other whereby by turning said rotatable insulator the links and arm may be folded over the pair of insulators.

3. In an air break switch for high tension electrical lines, a supporting base, an insulator having a stationary contact thereon, said contact having a hood thereon, and a contact receiving opening in one direction,

a pair of insulators spaced from the first named insulator in the direction of said opening, said last named insulators having a framework connecting them, one of said insulators being rotatable, and having a crank in said framework, a movable contact arm, and means for moving said arm endwise into and out of said opening and withdrawing thesame with a combined turning and translatory. movement to a position adj acent said framework, said means compris ing a pair of cranks pivoted to said arm and to said framework at different distances from said stationary contact, one of said links being connected to said crank, and the link nearest the stationary contact being shorter than the other whereby to. bring the movable contact adj acent to the pair of insulators when the switch is opened. g

4-. In an air break switch for high ten. sion electrical lines, a supporting base, an insulator having a stationary contact thereon, said contact having a hood thereon, and a contact receiving opening in one direc tion, a pair of insulators spaced from the first named insulator in the direction of said opening, said last named insulatorshaving a framework connecting them, one of said insulators being rotatable, and having a crank in said framework, a movable contact arm, and means for moving said arm endwise into and out of said opening and withdrawing the same with a combined turning and translatory movement to a position adjacent said framework, said means comprising a pair of cranks pivoted to said arm and to said framework at different distances from said stationary contact, one of said links having an angular extension beyond its pivot on said framework, connected to said crank, and the link nearest the stationary contact being shorter than the other whereby to bring the movable contact adjacent to the pair of insulators when the switch isopened.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 10th day of April, A. D. 1925.

NICHOLAS J. CONRAD. 

